Doomsday's Missing Marvel Characters May Have Just Revealed A Secret Spin-Off
It’s not the end of the world.
As the original Avengers line-up phases out of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, Marvel has been eager to introduce the next generation of heroes. The films and shows that followed Avengers: Endgame have teased a revolving door of fresh faces, but without a rallying point to bring these characters together, they’ve been scattered across the MCU.
Marvel’s latest efforts have been woefully unfocused, but Avengers: Doomsday may finally get the franchise back on track. The iconic superteam will reassemble for the first time in years, uniting disparate groups from every corner of the multiverse against a formidable new villain. It’s an exciting premise, but Marvel’s recent casting announcement still left a lot to be desired, especially where the new line-up is concerned.
Of all the actors set to return in the upcoming film, most are over 35. Aside from Letitia Wright’s Black Panther and Danny Ramirez’s Falcon, no younger heroes are joining the Avengers. Not even Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appeared on the cast list, leading some insiders to guess that he’ll be on his own adventure in Spider-Man 4. But what about Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), the new Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld), Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), or America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez)? Where are the young Avengers?
Kamala Khan is putting together a team. Will we see them in Doomsday?
For what it’s worth, Marvel isn’t finished announcing Doomsday’s cast. More actors are slated to appear in the upcoming film, although there’s no telling who will be invited to join the Avengers. So many characters who should be shoo-ins got no mention in Marvel’s major reveal, and while the studio could reverse that with another wave of announcements, there’s also a chance that Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and their peers won’t be in Doomsday at all.
What sounds like a glaring missed opportunity may actually be a blessing in disguise. Doomsday will be a massive crossover that dwarfs even Endgame, with dozens of characters set to appear in the lead-up to Secret Wars. Marvel has never been worried about biting off more than it can chew, but in the case of Doomsday, it would be wise to bench a few key characters — or give them their own tasks that will play into the crossover to come.
That’s how Marvel Comics handles big events: team-ups like Secret Invasion aren’t limited to the title comic run, but expand to include one-off storylines involving just Spider-Man or the X-Men. It’s the only way to properly tell a story of that scope, at least on the page, but Marvel Studios could employ a similar strategy for Doomsday.
While Doom wreaks havoc, the young Avengers may have their own problems to deal with.
While the core Avengers roster faces off with Doctor Doom, the next generation of heroes could be on their own adventure. Jeff Sneider claims that Spider-Man’s latest solo film will take place at the same time as Doomsday, so maybe the same will be true for characters like Ms. Marvel. She’s been busy gathering heroes to form her own super squad, and in Daredevil: Born Again, we learn that she’s “visiting friends” in California. There’s every chance we could see the formation of a new team before Doomsday, be it the Champions, the Young Avengers, or the West Coast Avengers. Marvel has all the heroes it needs to form a younger-skewing crime-fighting group, and none have been announced for Doomsday. With this strategy, everyone wins, and no one has to keep track of dozens of characters in one movie.
